Engine starting mechanism



March 30, 1937. R. P. LANSING ENGINE STARTING MEGHANISM Filed Aug. 20, 1955 y lll y w 4 w M Patented Mar. 30, 1937 UNITED STATES ENGINE STARTING MECHANISM Raymond P. Lansing, Montclair, N. J., assignor to Eclipse Aviation Corporation, East Orange, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 20, 1935, Serial No. 37,090

2 Claims.

This invention relates to engine starting appa ratus, and more particularly to a starter of the -inertia type.

An object of the invention is to provide in* 5 an inertia starter of the type employing a manually operable flywheel energizing shaft, novel means for permitting actuation of said crankingl shaft from any one of a plurality of angulalj positlons.

A further object of the invention is to provide in combination with a manually operable cranking shaft of the foregoing character, a combined universal and swivel joint connection to such cranking shaft, and manually operable means engageable therewith. l

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from inspection of the following specification when read with reference to the accompanying drawingv wherein isA illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawing is for the purpose` of illustrationonly, and is not designed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for this purpose.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a central longitudinalv section of .a device embodying the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view along the' line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring/to the drawing, there is disclosed a combined hand and power actuated starter of the inertia type employing, as the inertia member, aflywheel 2 of suitable shape and mass adapted to rotatably drive Van engine-engaging member or clutch jaw 3 which is movable into driving engagement with a corresponding jaw member (not shown) provided on the' crank shaft or crank shaft extension of the engine to be 40 started. The mechanism is housed within a suitable casing constituted by an inner section 4, a pair of intermediate sections 5 and 6, and a l Ymotor casing 1, the sections'lbeing.removablysef cured together in any suitable manner, and the inner section being provided with a flange 8 to facilitate the mounting of thev starter on the engine crankcase, or in any other suitable location.

The flywheel is adapted to be rotated at high speed in order that sufficient energy may be f stored therein for cranking the engine, and a gear train is preferably provided for transmitting the energy stored in the fiywheel' to the engine engaging member 3, said gear train being so constituted that the member 3 willbe rotated at a much lower speed than that of the flywheel. The manually operable means for actuating the flywheel 2 to accumulate therein the desired starting energy preferably takes the form of a cranking shaft I0 rotatably mounted in inter- (Cl. 12S- 179) mediate housing section 5, with the'outer end thereof projecting from said housingand provided at its inner 4end with suitable means, such as a bevel pinion II, for meshing engagementv with a similar pinion I2 on a combined shaft and barrel I3. The said shaft I3 is further provided' with a bushing I4 on which is rotatablyv mounted the hub of an internal spur gear I5 co-axially disposed with respect to the flywheel 2, and adapted to mesh with a pinion I6 made integral with a bell shaped member I1 provided at its.

The bell-shaped member I1 is, in turn, rotatablyl supported, as by means ofa stub shaft 25 and bearings 28 and 2l, in an elongated boss 28.

formed on wall 23.

Theinternal spur gear I5 is provided centrally thereof with an integrally formed pinion 50 which constitutes the sun gear forl a plurality of planetary gears 5I, one of which is shown in section in the drawing and another in elevation.

These planetary gears 5I, of which three are preferably employed, spaced at intervals'of one hundred and twenty Adegrees about the sun gear 5I), lmesh with an internal ring gear 52 which is rigidly secured in any suitable manner to the inner surface of housing section 4. Each planetary gear is rotatably mounted .as by a bearing 53 on a sleeve 54, the inner end of each sleeve being countersunkvin the outer face of the closed end-of barrel I3, into which Vextend screws 55. A retaining ring 56, carried by the outer end of each screw 55, maintainsv bearings 53 in their proper position on s 'leeves 54.

Means are preferably interposed between the transmission gear 'train above described and "the engine engaging member 3 for yieldingly translmitting energy from the flywheel to the engine crankshaft without damage to the parts, such as might result if the' driving connections were entirely constituted by rigidly connected 4elements. For this purpose a multiple d isc clutchV lis preferably employed, said clutch'being mounted within barrel I3. -As shown, the clutch/comprises a plurality of annular discs 51 which are alternately splined to the inner surface of .bar-

rel I3 and to the outer surface of an lnteriorly gagement of said disc. In the form shown, the yielding means comprises a plurality of coil springs 60 extending longitudinally of the barrel, with their outer ends having operative engagement with flange 59, and their inner ends ex-v erting a thrust against an annular ring 5I- mounted within the barrel and provided with a plurality of laterally projecting studs 62 which extend into the coils of springs 60, thereby maintaining them in proper spaced relation within the barrel. An adjusting nut 63 is threaded into the open end of the barrel and has abutting engagement with. the inner face of ring 5|. By adjusting the position of nut 63 longitudinally of barrel I3, the compression of springsv 60 may be changed to vary the pressure with which the clutch discs 51 are engaged.

vExteriorly threaded to the inner end of barrel `I3 is a ring 64 retaining the adjacent bear- 20. ing 49. Ring 64 may be locked in position by means of a wire 65. one end of which passes Y through said ring and engages one of a plurality of longitudinal slots 66 formedin the inner end of barrel I3, said ring being adapted to coact with ashoulder 61 formed on the outer end of the barrel and having engagement with the inner race of a second bearing 49 to prevent prevent endwise movement of the barrel relative to inner housing section 4.

Positioned -within nut 58 is an exteriorly threaded shaft 68 adapted for rotary and longitudinal movement relative to said nut. The outer end of said shaft is provided with suitable means such as a nut 69'adapted toy engage a shoulder formed interiorly of` nut 5B to limit longitudinal movement of the shaft to the left, as viewed in the drawing. The inner end of shaft 58 is longitudinally splined and extends into the correspondingly splined hub portion 10 of engine engaging member 3, whereby these parts have positive driving engagement but are also adapted for relative longitudinal movement. A coil spring 1l, surrounding a rod 13, preferably hasits outer end extending into a recess 4# formed in the inner end of shaft 68, and is interposed between said shaftl and the outer face of engine engaging member 3, to yieldingly resist movement of 'said member toward the shaft.

The rod 13 is adapted to be operated by suit-V' l able connections extending through the casing at right angles to the rod and functioning in the usual manner.

The novel means by which it is vpossibletof actuate thehshaft IIJ by means of a handcrank or any other operable member disposed at an angle thereto, will now be described. Referring to Fig.` 1, such means is therein shown as emlbodied in` an angular casing member 10 hav-` ing one portion of its outer wall disposed in parallelism with the axis of the starter proper and provided with a socket or recess having a sleeve bearing 12 adapted to rotatably receive the end of the shaft I0, fllrom whichv point the casing proceeds outwardly at an anglel to form a cylindrical boss 14, in which is rotatably mounted, with the assistance of a pair of ball bearing members 15 and 16 and a spacer 11, a manually operable shaft -18 having a bevel gear 19 at' its end adapted to mesh with bevel gear 80 on shaft I0. Near the outer 'end'of the shaft 18 is provided a yoke 82 constituting one member of a universal joint, the complemental meniout requiring from thek universal connection 85 a much greater angular range than the angle between theA shafts 18 and I0. vMoreover, due to the fact that flange 9| on casing 18 is free to ,swivel within the semi-annular journal plates 92, the operator is free to take the most conveni'ent position for cranking, andswivel the casing 10 to cause shaft 18to assume a correspondingly appropriate position.

The flywheel 2 preferably supports a drum 90 whose inner surface'is engageable by yarcuatel shoes 93 and 94 rotatable with armature shaft 92 of motor 1, in the manner pointed out in greater v detail in my application No. 538,793l flled MayV 20, 1931, of which application the present oneis a continuation in part.

While the embodiment herein shown and described is of proven practical merit, it is appreciated that persons skilled in the art may prefer, in certain instances to employ mechanical equivalents for many of the parts and features, and that changes will accordingly be made without departing from the` inventive principles herein sought to be protected, as set forth in the ap'- pended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an engine starting mechanism of the type embodying a. flywheel in which energy is stored for subsequent transmission to a member of the engine to be started, the'comblnation with said flywheel and engine member of a gear train drivably connecting said flywheel yand engine member, a housing for said gear train, means for val:- celerating said flywheel to store starting energy therein, a sub-housing for said 'accelerating means, and swivel mounting means for saidsubhousing, said mounting means comprising a flange on said sub-housing, ,in engagement with the outer surface of said gear train housing, a sectional ring also engageable with the outer surface of said gear train housing to constitute a track along which said sub-housing flange may slide, and means accessible from the exterior of both said housings for holding said sectional ring in position. i

2. In a starter, the combination with a drivingV member adapted to engage and crank a member of the engine to be started, of actuating means for said driving member, including a shaft in coaxial alignment therewith, a gear on said shaft, a cranking gear drivably connected with said first named gear and having a shaft extending from the starter at right angles to the axis thereof, a second cranking gear on said shaft at a.

point beyond the line of the housing of said starter, and means engageable with said second cranking gear to actuate `tlie latter, said means including a member rotatable about an axis which 5 is in turn shiftable about the axis of saidsecond named shaft to assumel any desired angular re ;0

lation thereto.

' RAYMOND?. LANSING.A 

